Private Confronting Nightmares

[Willow & Ivy]

Vyn Daldoure had done his due diligence. He had done what the twins had asked him to do and found one of the men seen in their nightmares. And that was Heath Valhoun . The man in question was a ruler of some sort in a faraway region on the other side of the Galaxy. Just how their paths would cross, they had no idea. Their nightmares didn't reveal the journey, only the destination.

Sitting at the holoterminal in their suite at Broka's Sky Palace, they both hesitated. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"I know, Ivy, but he's important."

"He's not a good person..."

"I know but neither is Broka. But look at what good he's done for us. We have a home, we have protection, food, jobs, and we even get credits to spend. And without him we wouldn't have Vyn."

"I know, but I'm allowed to worry, aren't I? I don't want to end up alone..."

"You won't Ivy, I promise. He's supposed to prevent that from happening."

As that seemed to settle the matter, Willow and Ivy recorded a holo-message to be sent to Heath Valhoun:


~Greetings. I am Willow and this is Ivy. We work for Broka the Hutt and request a meeting with you. Perhaps a beneficial deal between one Empire and another can be struck.

Let us know what you decide. Thank you for your time.~

Once the recording was finished, Ivy looked to her sister. "Broka's going to want to be in the loop, you know. We better tell him before he finds out on his own and summons us, Willow. He could see this as us trying to escape."

"But we're not! If anything we're trying to stay! And trying to stay together."

"I just hope that for our sake, Broka sees it that way." They both knew that all of their communications were monitored. It was only going to be a matter of time before Broka was alerted to it. But before seeing their employer, they wanted to wait for a reply.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 1
Tags: Willow & Ivy

Heath hadn't seen the holorecording for several days, but it had spread like wildfire across the fleet. Everyone was intrigued...between this and the revelation of his chosen Heir, rumors were everywhere. The hutts requesting a meeting with Heath, perhaps the biggest advocate of law and order in the galaxy? It didn't look good, and it was these rumors that brought the holorecording to Heath's attention.

So it was with a bad feeling that he sat down to watch the recording.

He had expected to see a droid, or a Hutt, but instead he found two girls. Certainly a surprise. He listened to the recording, then re-watched it, hoping to find anything he had missed the first time. He found nothing...and all it seemed to be was a request for some kind of economic agreement. Heath had every intention of declining. He wouldn't work with the criminal Hutts, known for their corruption since the beginning of their existence. That ebing said he wanted it to be public.

Therefore he chose to make a holorecording of his own, and send it to the Hutt.

"This is Heath Valhoun. I am not inclined to accept any deals with any Hutts, however, I will give you a chance to make your proposal. Let it be known that I am willing to give everyone a chance to bargain...even if they don't seem to agree or follow our ideology."

Heath felt some guilt after the last part of the message...he had secretly signed a deal with The Shadow Triumvirate against his better judgement. He was only going to use them, but he hated hiding it from his people. It gave him a sense of betrayal to people that both trusted, and would never betray him. In the end it was for the greater good. That was something that leaders needed to understand. Something that many didn't understand. Tough choices must be made for the greater good. Val Khaar understood it, giving his life for The Elysium Empire.

Maybe he'd end up making a deal with this Hutt.

For the greater good. ​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

There was no summons. And there was no reply. At least not for days. In some respects they thought that was a good thing. However, in others it only increased their anxiety over the matter of their nightmare.

And just when they had nearly given up hope, the reply from Heath Valhoun had arrived. Seeing the man outside of their nightmare, seeing that he did in fact exist, had brought chills down their spines. Yet the reasons for that were too complex for them to determine at this given moment. In order for them to gleam more information, they needed to be near him, and not just looking at a holo transmission.

So they sent him their reply:

~You are most gracious, Heath Valhoun. My sister and I are advisors to His Grace Broka, and we shall meet with you first before you are given an audience, should a bargain be foreseen.~

~A meeting place will be established soon on Nar Shaddaa. Once it's all arranged, the co-ordinates will be sent to you for you and your security team.~

~We too are wary of those that work in the shadows, and understand caution. You would be right to do the same.~

~Have a pleasant day.~

Ivy turned off the recording and sent it, looking towards Willow as she slowly shook her head. "Why did you tell him that? You might end up scaring him off."

"I don't think so....There's more going on with him than just him stopping us from being separated. I can feel it and whatever it is doesn't feel good."

"Yeah but is it not good for us, or for others?"

"I don't know. He's too far away for us to see properly. He needs to be closer. And if we don't like him or what we see, we can always send him away."

"Unless Broka prevents that..."

Willow nodded. They knew their employer well enough to figure that there was a chance that he'd try to bolster his own Empire if he thought it was beneficial to do so. But now they had to get things prepared in case Heath Valhoun decided to visit.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 2
Tag: Willow & Ivy

Why am I doing this?​

That was the question that Heath asked himself as he entered a ship to take him to Nar Shaddah. Of all places, he was going to a Hutt planet to meet some girls attached to each other in order to make some kind of treaty. It was literally the exact description of "Trap", yet he felt that he needed to at least give the girls a chance to make their proposal.

That being said, he wasn't going alone. He had thought far too much about his security detail, at first wanting to take two Quarantine Enforcer Droids, he changed his mind as the Quarantine enforcers were scary and would certainly be overkill. He also hated having two guards, as it gave him the sense of being thuggish. Therefore he opted to take one Elysium Enforcer Droid, not a Quarantine Enforcer. He hoped it would be enough, though if someone wanted him killed, especially a Hutt, it'd probably take an army to defend him.

He wondered what the arrangement would be. Protection? A base in The Elysium Fleet? Perhaps a mercenary-like offer. He couldn't accept any of those, only trade agreements could be considered. He had no plans to aid the Hutt unless it helped The Elysium Empire more. It was true, even in The Shadow Triumvirate, The Elysium Empire needed resources. As far as credits go, there was no concern. Citizens gave thousands of credits, exchanging them for Elysium Credits, meaning Heath could spend millions of galactic credits with no worries about inflation or shortages in his Empire. It was a genius plan, and it was working so far.

He sat down as the ship made for Nar Shaddah. As they took off he sent the following message directly to The Hutt: "I have just departed, I should be there within a day, stay tuned."

Simple, direct, and short. The perfect message in his opinion. Hopefully the Hutt wouldn't take any offense to the short message. Then again, he didn't really care. He'd offended thousands of people before. One could never satisfy everyone, and it wasn't right to pretend to think or be something that you aren't. People needed to toughen up, they'd never survive the amount of hate mail and messages he received.

He chuckled as he leaned his head back. He needed to catch some sleep. ​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Heath Valhoun was coming. And he would arrive within the day.

Willow and Ivy couldn't have him go to one of Broka's Palaces yet. It was too soon. So instead they had sent him the co-ordinates to a smaller Estate. It was more of a guest house and in some sense, that was exactly what it was going to be used for.

The building was carved from sandstone, with looming arches and columns dominating every entry point and room. The windows were large, yet covered with lace that kept out some of the harshest light, leaving the rooms pleasantly cool. The meeting room housed two long sofas with end tables, as well as side tables filled with a variety of food and drinks that Nar Shaddaa had to offer.

As for Willow and Ivy, they sat on one of the sofas, their feet bare and their bodies draped in silver fabrics accented with white flowers. Their bodyguards numbered four within the room; two behind them and two others standing sentry on either side of the door. They were dressed no different than your average spacer, yet all were armed. However their stance remained casual, yet alert.

Ivy spotted Heath and his droid a split second before willow did. "Welcome to Nar Shaddaa."

"Won't you please help yourself to something to eat or drink before you sit down?"

"Did you have a pleasant trip over?"

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 3
Tag: Willow & Ivy

The building was quite comfortable, especially when Heath first walked in from the blistering heat of Nar Shadda. Inside there were luxurious looking couches, and a variety of exotic foods and drinks. Heath had never gotten used to the hospitality that always preceded any meetings of importance. He wasn't the type to ask or want any special treatment. He simply had a dream for the galaxy and he wanted to achieve it for the people that believe in his ideology. They deserve the future it would provide if it were to come to fruition.

That being said, he did sometimes enjoy the beverages and the foods, though more recently he had begun to worry before eating anything. He was a man with many enemies, and poison was an easy way to assassinate a target. He was still uneasy on this moon. Mercenaries, Bounty Hunters, and worse often dwelled in the old huttese planet of Nal Hutta and it's moon, Nar Shadda. He surely had a bounty on his head and he had entered the enemies' playing field by coming here.

He tried to not think too much about that, it'd only make him more paranoid, and that would lead to rushed decisions. Rushed decisions were often bad decisions.

The girls had asked and offered him the typical pleasantries, and he'd give them a typical response: "Yes, I'll take a water, please. As for the trip, I certainly did, thank you." He gave them a quick smile in an effort to look friendly. Not that he wasn't friendly, he was just a bit stressed, and he didn't smile much. Hopefully it wouldn't look like a forced "politician's smile."

He stood for a moment before sitting down, not wanting to look hasty nor rude. He was a guest, this wasn't his place, he wouldn't just plop down and begin eating or drinking. Nor would he speak until spoken to...for now. Of course, he wanted to get down to business, but he respected that most people didn't like getting straight to the point.

So far there was nothing out of the ordinary. The Hutt wasn't here, but he didn't expect it to be, Hutts always used droids or slaves to do their dirty work. These girls were probably slaves or the nicer word, "servants." He hated that they were forced to do such a thing, but he was a bit glad he didn't have a Hutt sitting across from him. It spared his nose from the vile stench of the slugs, and his eyes from the disgusting appearance and habits of the hutts. For example, eating things slimier than they were, and burping the nastiest gasses imaginable.

He wouldn't let his guard down, but he was a bit more relaxed already. All he needed to do was wait for the next stage in the diplomatic game. It was the girls' move. ​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Ivy gestured for one of the guards behind them to to get the water. A tall glass was filled from a pitcher and delivered to Heath Valhoun .

Willow on the other hand was keeping her focus on the Force. Now that he was here, she could follow the webs a lot easier. Her eyes started to close, yet Ivy gave her a little nudge.

"That's wonderful to hear. You've come a long way. There is much danger in the Galaxy right now, but for this trip you'll avoid it all completely."

"If you're worried about poisons, don't be. We're not allowed weapons of any kind and poison is a powerful weapon indeed. And we would see if there was any danger ahead of time."

The twins studied him for a moment, giving pause to their conversation, as if contemplating which direction it'll go.

"Your importance in the Galaxy is rising."

"Yet not entirely in a good way. You are moving into the Shadows, and they cannot be trusted." More to the point, Willow and Ivy couldn't trust the Triumvirate. At all. Their current freedoms would be stripped and more or less they'd be locked in a cage. And then would come the experiments...

"We can help maintain your independence from them. They hold no jurisdiction over the Black Sun or it's operations."

"So you and your people would still be able to grow your economy and protect it without needing the Shadows."

The twins sipped their own drinks and waited to hear the thoughts of their guest.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 4
Tag: Willow & Ivy

Heath smiled again as one of the girls claimed that there was no poison. It was a nice gesture, but it certainly didn't mean anything to him. Lying is easy, they could be lying and he'd never know until he was choking up blood. He'd fix that, but first he wanted to hear their proposal.

After a few seconds of attentive listening Heath had come to a few conclusions. First he concluded that this was not an assassination attempt. Perhaps it'd become one, but the Hutt did have a proposal. However his second conclusion was that this wasn't the Hutt's doing....unless it was an offer to supply and protect The Elysium Empire in exchange for something that hadn't been revealed yet. His final conclusion was that the "Shadows" meant The Shadow Triumvirate. If not, Heath was unsure of who the girls were referring to.

First the threat of poison needed to be addressed a bit more. "While I appreciate your claim that there's no poison, I can't quite trust it. The only thing that makes a criminal a criminal is a law that they have broken. Only the lawful obey laws, therefore I ask that you allow me to tip some of my drink into your cup, and you tip some of yours back to mine. It's a common gesture that shows there's no poison, for if there were any, both our drinks would be contaminated."

Heath extended his cup toward the twins. He didn't lie and he didn't say anything too rude, he hoped. However he wasn't going to wait for an answer as he responded to their proposal.

"As far as your offer....well, I'm glad that my Empire is becoming more known..." He smiled lightly "I assume these Shadows are The Shadow Triumvirate? Now. I am not sure how you knew about that deal. It was supposed to be secret, and it's a secret I hate keeping but feel that I must for the sake of my people and our goals. Regardless of how you know of our arrangement, I assure you I know that they are not to be trusted. I only intend to use their aid for as long as I have to. At the first chance I will leave."


It'd been a mouthful, but he had covered everything on his mind. He often felt that he talked too much when sometimes he hadn't talked enough. This time he felt confident that he'd said just enough. Though he wondered if it sounded like he was rejecting their offer, thus he added on one thing at the end...

"However, I am intrigued by your offer. Please continue."​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

The twins did as Heath Valhoun suggested, pouring bits from each cup into the others and then drinking them in order to prove that there was no poison in either of them. Not even a slow acting one. For as the pair had said, they weren't allowed any weapons. And they were watched well enough to be sure that they didn't get their hands on them.

Even though the twins didn't want to leave the safety given to them by Broka, they were still being guarded to prevent their escape. He valued their abilities highly, as did most, and he treated them better than anyone else had. Some called them slaves and even tried to free them, but the twins felt more threatened by the outside Galaxy than being kept in Broka's clutches. At least he kept them safe.

"My sister and I are not criminals. We have never commited a crime, nor have we been asked to do so."

"And we won't. The Silvers occupy these lands and they have done much to keep things more lawful here."

"But to answer your question, we know of your deal with the Shadows because we had seen it." Willow held onto her sister's hand, interlocking their fingers. "We see many things. And we have seen that your plan will backfire. It will be worse for you in the end, if you don't stop it before it's too late."

All of Willow's warnings weren't with a lot of detail for neither of the twins had focused well enough or touched him to see things more clearer. Right now they were vocalizing their feelings and interpreting quick images that came and went in a flash.

"Our proposal is that you head our words, and in the process open up some trade with Black Sun. It can be kept strictly to supplies, foods and weapons that are deemed legal by your laws. And in return we ask for the same. Or you can buy them with the Imperial credits that are not your home currency."

This was of course, the first step. And they could sweeten the deal if need be.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 5
Tag: Willow & Ivy

They had mixed the drinks, assuring Heath that there was no threat in the liquid. With this reassurance he took a swig of the water, the liquid cooling his chest as it travelled down his throat. As he drank the girls responded to his inquiries and made their goals clear. They wanted him to abandon The Shadow Triumvirate and begin trading with the Hutts. They claimed it would only be legal goods. That was something he couldn't trust. The girls may not know better, but The Hutt would simply smuggle illegal goods through the trade.

He didn't understand what the Hutt would get from this deal other than a smuggling route. The Elysium Empire had just enough to supply the fleet with food, medicine, and weapons. Things the Hutt wouldn't have much profit from unless it was weaponry designed by Veinstein Labs and Innovations that only The Elysium Empire had, such as FRC-1 Gas, a gas that could be launched from a gun, artillery, or even manually thrown as a grenade that neutralized Force Users' ability to harness The Force. Or perhaps the extremely rare Elysium Bryn-Killer Droid armed with everything necessary to kill a Drael.

These were things that Heath didn't want to give away. These weapons gave The Elysium Empire a fighting chance, and without them The Empire was nothing but a scattered cult. Another possibility was that the Hutt wanted to spy on The Elysium Empire and sell information to the highest bidder. This could be reversed...maybe Broka wanted Heath to spy on the new trade route, and make sure things were going as planned. Heck, maybe he wanted The Elysium Empire to act as guards so he wouldn't have to pay for mercenaries to protect his traders.

Could he somehow know about the diamonds The Elysium Empire had looted when they attacked The Agents of Chaos? The diamonds had been stored as a safekeep. A backup to be sold or used if things got bad for The Empire. They were hidden, but these girls seemed to know a lot of things. Clearly they had The Force. Even if they didn't, they could assume some Diamonds had been taken in the assault, but nobody would know if The Empire still had them.

So many motives, some good and some bad. Heath didn't know what to do. He didn't like the idea of working with the Hutts, even the nicer ones, but he also didn't like nor trust Sularen's Shadow Triumvirate. At least the Hutt truly had reasoning to his proposal. Sularen seemed to think The Triumvirate was powerful enough to fight a war with the Galactic Alliance, so why ask Heath for help? The Hutt, like most Hutts, could probably be bought if he showed signs of betraying Heath.

In the end, Broka was the safer option, but only barely. Heath would accept, but he wanted to try and negotiate some kind of bonus. He wanted reassurance of some type.

"Alright....but you must realize that I can't be sure that this isn't a trick just based off of words. Look at it from my point of view...Broka has little to gain just by trading. Beyond that, I have many enemies that could use information about my Empire. Finally, Hutts do not have the greatest reputation, if you know what I mean. Would you not suspect foul intentions if you were me?"

As he waited for their response he couldn't help but wish he had a Jedi with him to sense any secret plots or potential dangers. He was uneasy about the proposal, just as he had been with The Shadow Triumvirate...but it was just a hunch....

....he hoped​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

They listened to Heath Valhoun 's concerns, which were valid ones to be sure. They supposed that when one was a leader they always had a target on their back. That was why Broka had them; to look ahead and see who would make such attempts to go after him. They weren't under his employ to hunt for valuables, but for his own longevity as a ruler.

"Broka has enemies too. As do we."

"One must always be cautious when they lead the people. They'd be foolish otherwise."

"Trade routes are valuable, especially safe ones."

"As are allies. And as you can rightly guess, Broka has no military means or want to war with your sector. His ambitions remain here in Hutt space."

Willow had a sip of her drink, and let out a bit of a nervous breath afterwards. "In truth we had asked you here for a more personal reason." Ivy's jaw clenched a little while her sister spoke, her body becoming a bit more tense as she recalled the nightmares. "We have been having a reacurring dream, one that involved you. And in order to gain more knowledge of it, we needed you closer to us so that we could properly see if it is anything other than just..."

"...a nightmare."

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 6
Tag: Willow & Ivy

Heath was both surprised and intrigued by this revelation. If it was true, and there was no reason for it not to be, had they been reading his mind this whole time? He didn't dislike Force Users, but he hated thinking that he had no way to hide his thoughts. Then he wondered what the dream was, and why he was in it. The best way to find out was to simply ask.

"I see. Well...." he took a breath "Go ahead, read me. But first, tell me what my role in this dream is."

He extended his left arm, assuming the girls would grab it in order to better read him. He didn't really like letting them into his mind, but they were doing it anyway. Perhaps in letting them in he could control what they could see. He pictured them, and some basic information, forcing his thoughts to stray from any secret information.

He had completely forgotten about the trade deal. He would accept it later, The Hutt could be a better ally than The Shadow Triumvirate, for now at least. As for the dream, he couldn't imagine what it could be. He had never met these girls before. Perhaps The Elysium Empire would liberate them later? Maybe they would become allies. Perhaps foes? But to them it was a nightmare, and that was something that Heath didn't understand. Maybe his Empire would be a nightmare to its' foes, one day, but these weren't foes yet.​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"Thank you for the permission. We don't use our abilities otherwise."

"It'd be rude and we wouldn't want to get into trouble." Trouble usually meant isolation and removal of good food and drinks. Sometimes it meant beatings as well which were extra harsh on the twins because they felt eachother's pain. Yet at least under Broka's employment they didn't have to worry about such things. At worse he'd just have them remain in their huge suite, which wasn't really bad at all.

Willow reached over, both twins leaning forward to reach Heath Valhoun 's outstretched hand and take it into her own. She closed her eyes, remaining silent while Ivy did all the talking.

"We don't read minds but follow the webs that flow and intermingle with many others. We made a promise to not look into our own future after we saw what we didn't want to see. Our connection is not just physical, but spiritual as well. And there have been some interested in us, so much so that they want to separate us to see what would happen. And what we saw was death; the death of Willow....I don't want to lose her. We have never been alone. Never." Chills ran down her spine as the scenes from their nightmare played out in her mind while Willow continued her search. "We had been safe from such visions until the nightmares started. The two of us were in a lab, pinned down and then you came and freed us before our connection could be severed..."

Willow stopped Ivy from talking with a squeeze of her hand. In turn she closed her eyes too and for a few moments, the pair remained perfectly still, their breathing shallow enough that it was barely noticeable. Not a word was spoken. There was only silence and the feeling of tension in the air so thick that it could be cut by a knife.

What the twins saw didn't offer them any hope. If anything it was just a warning of what was to come. And as they knew from the nightmares, Heath wasn't a good man. He was their hero in one sense, but in another he was no hero at all. Willow sent a thought to Ivy, letting her sister know that by inviting Heath here, they may have helped their nightmare and horrible future come to fruition, instead of trying to prevent it from happening.

Ivy opened her eyes as Willow let go of Heath's hand, and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, holding her close. "We were too late. You have weapons made to hurt people like us, just as the Shadows do. Bringing you here wasn't enough to stop the future that the Shadows want. They will achieve it with your help."

"...And with ours." Willow piped up, having seen Marlon Sularen through the webs of the Force that eminated from Heath. But by no means were they going to reach out to him as they did with Heath, in case it too brings them another step closer to their nightmare, and closer to death. So there would have to be another way that they could stop the Shadows from gaining even more power. There would have to be other people that they could reach out to before it was too late, before they'd be forced to help bring about such a future.

There just had to be.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 7
Tag: Willow & Ivy

He listened as one twin explained that apparently they didn't read minds, but instead saw...the future? The twin continued, giving more insight into why they needed to talk to him. Apparently one was separated in the future, and it resulted in the death of her. But Heath could stop it, somehow, at the last moment. He knew they could be making it up, but he had a sense of empathy, he knew what it was like to feel alone. Even now, as a King surrounded by people constantly, he often felt alone. He was one in a galaxy of trillions. He often wondered what really made him any different from anyone else. Sure, he had a dream and a small ""Empire"", but so did crime lords. He had no real family, his heir was adopted, and his parents were long gone. He didn't have many friends either, apart from Dr. Andreus Veinstein, and even he was more of an associate than a friend. An associate Heath owed a lot to.

The thought of Veinstein sparked a thought. Heath knew the Doctor often times used...questionable....methods in the name of science. Could he be related to the girls dream? Surely not. What would the chances be that Andreus would run into these twins, and not just meet them, but experiment on them. Anything was possible, but it was unlikely.

The girls then went silent, performing whatever Force tricks they needed to see their fate.

Heath did not know what the girls saw. He hoped it had helped them, but only if they were truthful about their reasoning. He also hoped they hadn't seen too much, even if their intent was good, the secrets they could retrieve from his mind could ruin The Elysium Empire.

But then they revealed what they saw. To Heath's dismay it was wrong, what they said was wrong . They were misguided by their own visions. Beyond that they apparently did see The Elysium Empire's weapons. This whole trip had been a disaster, he was foolish to let the girls lie and cheat him! Now the weapons were revealed, the Hutt and any of Heath's enemies would know and the whole Empire could be wiped off the map. His blood boiled, but he kept his cool. Unsure of how long that would last, he calmly responded to the twins

"Surly you are misguided. Perhaps the web is...tangled...?" He didn't know what he was talking about, but he needed to convince-no, -show- them that he was not evil "I promise I have no intent of hurting you. Marlen Sularen and his Shadow Triumvirate are just pawns, they will never see a united galaxy under their false banner. The warlords will all betray Sularen and his story will be at an end. I assure you, whatever you saw, it cannot be correct."

He paused, thinking hard on his next words

"These weapons...what are they?"

He was torn. He wanted to know his fate, and the future of his Empire, yet he was afraid to know. He didn't trust their vision, anyone saying Sularen would be victorious was wrong. It was impossible. Heath had studied The Galactic Civil War enough to know that when an Empire consists of Warlords, it will never win because it's main enemy is itself.

That's why he asked about the weapons. It didn't tell his fate, nor his Empire's story...just some weapons that may not even exist. It'd also reveal what they truly saw. If the weapons were not something Heath would allow, then the vision was flawed.

He held his breath, and with it, his emotions. He hoped he could keep them under control just long enough to reassure him that this vision was wrong. Long enough to show that he was a good man. Just a little longer. ​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"The webs intermingle, but they do not tangle. There are different colours for different kinds of people, different kinds of emotions."

"Yours are changing colour too."

Oh how they hoped and wished that they were just wrong, and that their visions were wrong, their nightmares were wrong. But the saddest thing is that so far, their visions had never been wrong. They can be altered over the course of events, but overall they were never wrong.

As Heath Valhoun 's blood boiled, the twins were having the opposite reaction. They were getting more and more fearful, huddling in eachother's arms.

His question brought about an immediate response, one that was very naive as the twins were to many things in the Galaxy. "You've weaponized air. Not to kill, but to hurt and to take away power."

"It will be exploited by the Shadows. Just as we are said to be."

"Please destroy it before it could be made into something worse..."

Willow and Ivy looked at him with pleading eyes. They were much like children asking a parent to be sure that there were no monsters under their beds or hiding within their closets. They needed to pull at his heart strings and not to make him angry. Anger wouldn't help them.

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 8
Tag: Willow & Ivy

It was The FRC-1 gas. It was a temporary gas that could make it nearly impossible to use The Force until it cleared. Apparently the girls thought it was much worse than it actually was. Sularen wouldn't get the weapon. Heath hoped that Even The Elysium Empire wouldn't need it any time soon.

The girls truly thought Sularen was a threat. If they believed it so much, The King knew he'd be wise to at least consider Sularen as more dangerous than he currently did. It couldn't hurt to be safe.

Still, Heath wanted to convince the girls they were wrong. He wanted to present himself as what he was, not what they thought he was.

"Sularen will not take The FRC gas. He nay invent his own, but he won't get ours, I promise. If you think he is the threat that you claim, then tell The Hutt that I will tell him when the next battle involving The Shadows is set to begin. When it happens, the Hutt will send all of his forces to aid me as I turn our fleet against Sularen. I had hoped to wait, but from what you've told me, I cannot. Is this a logical request?"​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

Willow and Ivy wanted to believe Heath Valhoun , but their visions showed them differently. Still...all of that could change. There might still be time. However the twins didn't want to go looking again, not for whatever was in store for them, anyways. For others, sure, but not for themselves.

They listened to him give his promises and his proposal. It was a sound one, but one that wasn't within their power or authority to grant. "We will make the suggestion to Broka and see what he says. Those under him are crime lords, bounty hunters and thieves. Yet there are profits to be made in war, which is why he remains as neutral as he does."

Their hold on eachother began to relax a little as their fears were starting to be eased. "You will be our saviour, so we must have some trust and faith in what you say. Keep such weapons a secret, so that the Shadows don't create it themselves. We will do what we can to warn you if anything new comes to light if you so desire."

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 9
Tag: Willow & Ivy

The girls said they would do what they could, and offered to warn him. He quickly accepted this offer with a simple "yes", then decided to say a bit more:

"I don't know how I save you...but I believe the best way to see this future through is to do nothing. If we do anything that could change it, you may not be saved. Please...I don't know The Force...but be careful with your actions." This was why he would make no mention of Dr. Veinstein. He may change the future and make things worse.

He wondered why he was helping the girls. He had no real motive and they could easily betray him. He guessed it was just that he was a good person, despite what people said about him.

He had one last thing to say, unless the girls said more afterwards-which they may considering there was a trade deal that might have actually been a true offer, as well as his assumption that may be incorrect about changing the future.

"Thank you."

He figured they'd understand he was thanking them for their warning that may save his Empire. Maybe they wouldn't. It didn't matter, he had said it, and that was that.​

 

[Willow & Ivy]

"You will keep us together and save Willow in the process."

"Doing nothing is not the answer. By finding you and bringing you here, you now know about us and our future plight so that you can act upon it when you are required to."

Yet they were unaware of how they would call out to Heath Valhoun and get him to rescue them when they need to. Most especially if they were captured and strapped down to a table like they had seen. More than likely any commlinks on them would be removed.

They both sipped their drinks. And it was Willow that spoke up again. "Broka will be happy for new supply lines and customers within your Empire. Your officials can compile a list of what is not approved by the way of goods, and that way shipments won't be slowed down."

 

[Heath Valhoun]

Post: 10
Tag: Willow & Ivy

They didn't agree that the best action was to do nothing. He would convince them.

"The future was going to be my rescuing of you, yes? That was well before I knew who you were. I had never seen you before. Now I know, and in telling me what is to come, I may act differently than I did in the events leading up to your dream. The outcome may change. What if I didn't betray Sularen before, but now I will because I know what becomes of our alliance?"

He hoped he had explained it well. He hadn't lied, he would not have betrayed sularen so soon before he learned what it led to. Already he was changing the future from what it would have been.

He took a sip if his drink as he waited for the girls' response.​